The Airbending Prince
by theChaotiverseWriter
Summary: One hundred years have passed since the Avatar disappeared. The world has changed since then. All the airbenders have been annihilated, all but one, This airbender however is the Firelord's adopted son. What future awaits this Airbending Prince? Updates every Monday
1. Chapter 1

**The Avatar Returns**

 **Chapter 1**

The cold climate of the south pole weighs heavily in the area. Many icebergs are present in the sea the penguins all go about their business being one with nature

A ship suddenly comes through the waters plowing through the ice. It was being powered by coal the smoke flowed out the pipes at a constant rate. On the deck of the ship stood a young boy. He had short black hair and was looking out in the distance. He wore red armor complete with dense shoulder pads. The armor was light and simple in design so as to make the user more maneuverable.

A man comes from inside the ship approaching the young boy

"Prince Weifang" said the man to the boy. "We've spotted him"

Weifang turns to the man. "Good, let's not keep him waiting" he said

Suddenly, a large light shoots up in the sky. It drew their attention as something odd. The light soon fades and the skies go back to normal.

"What was that sir?" asked the man

"I don't know, but that's not important. Get me to Prince Zuko right now" The man nods and goes back inside.

The ship goes a good distance until it comes across another ship of equal size. On the other ship sat an elder man in his chair wearing a similar outfit as Weifang. There was also a teenage boy with a ponytail and his left side scared he was standing on the dock looking out to the horizon. The ship parks next to each other and a drawbridge connects them. Weifang crosses over to the other ship. The old man looks and smiles

"Weifang?" said the old man

"Uncle Iroh" said Weifang. The two hug. "It's been so long"

"Two years by my count. What bring you all the way to the south pole?"

"I was looking for you guys."

Iroh looks at Weifang in confusion.

"Looking for us, why?"

"Because I wanted to"

"No you don't" said the ponytail boy as he walks over to Iroh. "Why would you come here now of all times?"

"Zuko, show some politeness to your brother" said Iroh to him.

"Uncle, it's been two years, two years and he shows up now when we've found the Avatar?"

Iroh sighs. "Zuko, I told you not to get your hopes up, there's no guarantee that that is the Avatar."

"It might" said Weifang. "Even the smallest clue can lead to the Avatar"

"Or another dead end" said Iroh. "Zuko and I've been down this road a few times, it's lead to nothing but regret and pain."

"That's enough Uncle" said Zuko. He turns to Weifang. "It's time for you to go Weifang."

Weifang looks at Zuko with a determined look on his face. "Zuko, you can't just shut me out like that" said Weifang "What if I can help?"

Zuko grunts in anger. "I've had enough of your help" said Zuko pointing to his scar. Weifang grew silent.

"Zuko, that's enough, you can't keep living in the past" said Iroh. Zuko brushes past Iroh going inside.

"He's angrier now" said Weifang.

"A lot has changed in the two years he's been away" said Iroh. He gently strokes his beard. "But he does have a point, why are you here?"

"You too?"

"It's not like I'm not happy to see you, but given my brother's attitude and tendencies, you being here is suspicious."

Weifang sighs heavily. "Well, I'll admit, I'm not here by accident. Truth is that I'm not supposed to be here. Dad doesn't even know I'm here. He thinks I'm in a camp in the north towards Whale Tail Island."

"Then why did you come here."

"Because this is the first time in two years that I've been away from home for a long period of time and when I heard the rumors of you and Zuko I figured that I try to reconnect." He looks back towards the deck of the ship. "Doesn't look like I'm very successful."

Iroh sighs. "Look, it's not like I'm glad to see you, It's just well, last time you and Zuko saw each other…."

"He still blames me for what happened, yeah, I know. Do you?"

Iroh closes his eyes. "Of course not, you did nothing wrong, it's just that your father has ways of twisting the truth. To Zuko, you're the reason it happened."

"But Uncle, if I hadn't stepped in—"

"It doesn't matter if you stepped in or not, it would have happened either way." Iroh places his hand on his shoulder. "Try not to dwell on the past, maybe you being here will work out better for Zuko.

"Prince Weifang" said a soldier from Weifang's ship. He had a packed bag in his hand. "I packed up all the essential belonging like you asked. "

"Thank you captain" said Weifang. "Um Uncle, do you have and extra room?"

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "So you intended to stay all along huh?" said Iroh. There is an awkward silence before Iroh smiles and laughs. "Well, you're in luck, there's an extra room on the third level. I'll go prepare it for you." Iroh goes inside the ship. The captain leans towards Weifang.

"Sir did you inform them about your mission?" said the captain.

"I only told them what I want them to know" said Weifang. "If they found out about my mission, it will complicate my relationship with them.

"How long will you be able to keep it a secret sir, the FireLord want's you back by the end of the summer whether you killed the avatar or not."

"Yeah, I know. Still not sure if killing him is the right method."

"Sir if anyone can kill the Avatar it's you." Weifang takes a deep breath.

"Take the ship back and rejoin the rest of the fleet, and inform my dad that I may be on a possible lead on where the Avatar might be. Expect my information to be scattered as I will not have the opportunity to properly inform him on my progress."

"Yes sir." The captain returns to the ship and they undock from Zuko's ship. They then turn around disappearing into the distance. Iroh comes back out.

"I've got everything ready for you" said Iroh.

"Thanks Uncle" said Weifang.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Zuko stands off against two fire nation soldiers with skull masks on. Iroh and Weifang watch in anticipation. Zuko punches sending fire from his fist towards the two soldiers. The soldiers fire back. Zuko flips over them sending fire from his right hand and left foot towards them. They block the fire as they jump back.

"No" said Iroh. "Power in firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past the limbs and becomes fire." Iroh punches releasing fire in front of himself. "Get it right this time."

"Enough" said Zuko. "I've been drilling this sequence all day, teach me the next set, I'm more than ready."

"No! you are impatient; you have yet to master your basics. Drill it again."

Zuko kicks a fireball and a soldier knocking him down. "The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender."

"Boy did they get that wrong" said Weifang sarcastically.

"Quiet" said Zuko. He turns back to Iroh. "He must be over 100 years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements I'll need more than basic firebending if I want to defeat him. YOU WILL TEACH ME THE ADVANCE SET." Zuko and Iroh stare intensely at each other.

"Might I make a suggestion Uncle" said Weifang. "Perhaps it would be best if Zuko fought someone with skillsets similar to the Avatar."

Iroh gives Weifang a concerned look. "I don't think that's a good idea" said Iroh. "You're not allowed to show off your abilities especially here of all places."

"Then we won't do it on the ship." Weifang points to a Fire Nation ship frozen in ice. "We'll duel over there."

Iroh looks at the ship thinking to himself. "I guess that could work but how will you be able to contact us when you're done?"

"Zuko can send a large fireball in the sky when we're ready to be picked up; simple"

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" asked Zuko.

Iroh thinks for a second. "That could work" said Iroh. "Besides, Weifang would be the perfect opponent for you."

"Uncle, you're supposed to be teaching me the advance set."

"And I will once you have your duel with Weifang." Zuko angrily grunts. "Captain, take us to that ship"

The ship lands on the iceberg Zuko and Weifang get off.

"Listen you two, play nice" yelled Iroh. The ship departs disappearing behind some icebergs. Weifang starts making his way up to the deck of the abandoned ship Zuko follows. They get to the deck which is slightly damaged due to the ice

"Okay then" said Weifang. "Let's get started." Weifang goes a good distance from Zuko and turns around They both get in a fighting position they left hands in front with their right hands close to their body. The feet spread wide to support their weight. They stare at each other for a good minute.

Zuko is the first to attack. He throws a punch sending a fireball towards Weifang. Weifang dodges left to avoid it. Zuko does a series of punches to try and hit him and Weifang dodges it with ease. Weifang they strike with and open palm. Air suddenly shoots in Zuko's direction. Zuko jumps out the way to avoid the air current. He kicks at Weifang sending a fireball at him but Weifang jumps over it. Weifang sends an air wave at Zuko and he gets knocked back into the ship's railing. Zuko yells in frustration. He charges at Weifang sending a large fire wave at him. The fire obscures his vision not realizing what just happened. The fire clears and Weifang is nowhere in sight. Suddenly, Zuko looks up and sees Weifang standing on a small bar near the upper deck of the ship. He shoots another fireball at Weifang but this time, a stream of water comes and blocks it. Zuko is shocked. Weifang then jumps down and water starts to surround him he starts moving his hands as the water goes faster and faster. He then shoot the water towards Zuko who falls off the edge of the ship onto the ice below. Weifang jumps off the ship to check on Zuko. Zuko slowly gets up looking at Weifang in shock.

"You were the Avatar the whole time?" said Zuko. Weifang laughs.

"Don't be ridiculous. What I did just now was not waterbending."

"But you were able to command the water just like a water bender."

"That's what it looks like on the surface." Weifang holds his right hand up. "Watch carefully" a small orb of wind forms in his hand he stretches it out to the water. The air enters the water picking it up with the current. The water then flows back to Weifang's hand. "As you can see, I'm not waterbending. I'm airbending around the water. Neat trick don't you think?"

"When did you learn that?"

"I discovered it while training with father."

Zuko shifts his gaze away. "You trained with father?" Weifang then realizes what he said.

"It's not what you think. I mean he wanted me to….I mean ye had me….you see there's this thing that he…." Weifang grew silent.

Zuko stands up. "That's enough. We're going back to the ship." Weifang reaches out his hand to say something but stops. Suddenly, they see a flare shoot up in the sky. They both look in the direction of the flare there was another ship close by. Zuko takes out a spy glass from his pocket to get a closer look. He sees two figure jump down from the ship. They start heading to a village in the distance.

"The Avatar, and his hiding place" said Zuko. Weifang looks and sees the ship coming back.

"We need to get back to the ship" said Weifang.

"I've prepared for this moment." The two head back to the ship.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Zuko gets suited up in new armor as well as a helmet. Weifang sits on the deck of the ship looking out to the distance. Iroh comes to the deck walking over to Weifang

"We're almost there Uncle" said Weifang.

"Yes" said Iroh. "Though I still have my doubts; it's not like there's proof that this is the Avatar after all."

"Doesn't mean we stop looking"

"Listen, if it turns out that this is another dead end, you have to make sure to let Zuko down easily, after all, he's quite fragile."

"I've noticed"

The ship suddenly crashes through some ice approaching a very small village with only a few tents up a kid with a pony tail stood just in front of the entrance of this village. The village consists of on elderly woman with a young 14 year old girl, a bunch of kids and the ponytail kid looking to be about 15 years old. The ship suddenly stops a few inches from him. Weifang looks on from the deck. The front of the ship then opens up as the ponytailed kid jumps out the way. Zuko and a few soldiers walk out the front of the ship while Weifang watches. The kid with the ponytail charges at Zuko who just kicks him into the snow. Weifang jumps down from the deck landing in the snow. He walks past the stuck ponytailed kid shaking his head.

"Amateur" said Weifang. He approaches the rests of the men. Zuko walks up to the frightened villagers.

"Where are you hiding him?" yelled Zuko. The villagers cower in fear. Zuko scans them grabbing the elderly woman. "He would be about this age, mastered all elements." The villagers remain silent in fear. Zuko pushes the elderly woman toward them and bends a wave a fire in front of them to scare them. The villagers cower together in fear. Suddenly the pony tail kid comes running at them screaming with a club in hand. Weifang casually trips him as he dodges causing him to fall face first in the snow. He looks at him and looks at the villagers feeling disinterested. He casually walks over to Zuko.

"Zuko, I think this might be a dead end" said Weifang.

"What?" said Zuko as he looks at him very agitated.

"Look around Zuko, Children, one elderly woman, no men. Obviously the Southern Raiders decimated this village ages ago. If he was here they would have found them."

"NO! He's defiantly here. I know they're hiding him." The ponytail kid runs at them again with his club as Zuko and Weifang casually dodge them. Zuko then flips him over and shoots a fireball at him. The kid dodges and throws a bladed boomerang at Zuko. Zuko dodges with ease and smirks.

"Show no fear" said one of the village kids throwing the ponytail kid a spear. The ponytail kid runs at Zuko with the spear.

Zuko easily breaks it with his wrist guards and grabs the remaining part to poke him in the head.

"You really don't have experience fighting real soldiers do you?" said Weifang to him.

"I'm experienced enough" said the ponytailed kid. Weifang suddenly catches a glimpse of the boomerang coming towards him and Zuko. He dodges out the way but Zuko gets hit in the back of the head with it. His helmet nearly comes off because of it. Angered, flames start coming out of Zuko's hand and he stares them down. A girl with hair loops rushes to the ponytail kid's side. Just then, Weifang catches a glimpse of a bald kid with an arrow tattoo rushing in on a penguin. He jumps out the way and the kid knocks Zuko down. The village kids cheer him on as he jumps off the penguin.

"Hey, Katara, Sokka" said the kid with the Arrow

"Hey Aang" said the ponytail kid.

Zuko gets up ordering his shoulders to surround him. Aang then uses his staff to bend snow knocking out the soldiers and covering Zuko in snow.

"Looking for me?" said Aang.

Weifang and Zuko look at Aang in shock. "You're the airbender? You're the AVATAR!?" they said.

"What?" said Katara.

"No way" said Sokka.

Zuko takes a battle stance. "I've spent years planning for this day, training, meditating, you're just a CHILD" he said.

"So, you're just a teenager" said Aang.

Weifang rushes and going to punch him. Aang jumps high in the air landing a good distance from him Zuko then sends fireballs towards Aang who uses his staff to block the fireballs. As he blocks the fireballs, sparks of fire from the attack starts flaring up near the villagers.

"Wait" said Aang. "If I go with you do you promise to leave these villagers alone?" Zuko pauses for a minute and nods. Aang then throws his staff down and the men take him. Weifang walks over and picks up the staff.

"Aang don't do this" yelled Katara. She tried to run towards him but one of the guards stepped in front with fire sparking from his hands.

"Know your place little girl" said the soldier as he lifts up his fire hand. Weifang then uses Aangs staff to knock the soldier back a couple feet knocking his helmet off revealing his face. The soldier was a middle age man with a burn mark near his mouth and piercing red eyes. He glares and Weifang as fire erupts from both hands. Weifang then stomps on the soldier's chest aiming the staff at his neck.

"Stand down, the deal was leaving the villagers alone in exchange for the surrender. The soldier turns away from Weifang. He takes his foot off of him and aggressively picks him up. "Back to the ship" The soldier scoffs at him and walks back to the ship. The rest of the soldiers follow suit with Zuko and Weifang being the last ones on.

"Set a course to the fire nation, I'm going home" said Zuko.

"Take care of Appa for me" yelled Aang as the ship starts to close up. Aang and Katara lock eyes as Aang gives a reassuring smile to her before the ship completely closes up. The ship then departs heading far away from the village.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Zuko, Aang, Weifang, Iroh and a couple soldiers stand on the deck as the ship travels north. Zuko holds up Aang's staff.

"This would make a nice trophy for my father" said Zuko. He looks and Aang. "I guess you wouldn't know about fathers, being raised by monks." He gives the staff to Iroh. "Take this to my quarters; and take the avatar to the prison hold." Zuko goes inside.

Iroh gives the staff to a random soldier. "Hey, can you take this to his quarters for him?" said Iroh. He then proceeds inside the ship. Aang is taken below deck to the prison hold. Weifang walks to the edge of the deck staring out into the open sea.

"That was too easy, no way we should have captured him that fast" said Weifang. "Even worse, he seems to be younger than us. I don't know if I should be grateful or disappointed. Weifang sighs as he slowly walks back. Just then Aang burst out below the deck and rushes inside the ship still tied up. Weifang goes to check on the guards who have been completely knocked out. Weifang smiles. "That's more like it." He jumps up and heads inside to follow Aang.

Weifang enters and sees the guards scrambling to find the Avatar. He scurries about the ship checking behind every door. He then hears fireballs being shot from above him. He quickly gets up top and comes face to face with Aang now untied.

"Hi" said Aang, "You wouldn't happen to know where my staff is would you?"

"Not really" Weifang sees a nearby torch and bends a slow breeze to it. He picks up part of the fire with his air and uses his airbending to keep it burning. The fire surrounds his hands forming gloves.

"Whoa, never seen a fire bender do that before."

"I'm special" Weifang punches sending out a large fireball. Aang dodges it. Weifang does a series of punches as Aang dodges them all. Aang then sends a gust of wind at Weifang blowing him back. Weifang hits the wall hard. Weifang quickly recovers but the Avatar has already run away. "He's fast" said Weifang. Weifang keeps walking trying to find Aang. He suddenly hears what sounds like fighting above him as well as Zuko's voice. He get up to the level Zuko is on and the fighting sounds suddenly stop. He goes down the corridor trying to look for Aang. He then bumps right into Zuko and they both fall down.

"Watch where you're going" said Zuko. He quickly gets up and runs ahead.

"Can't even say a simple I'm sorry" said Weifang. He chases Zuko to the command center of the ship. They see Aang open his staff forming what appears to be a glider. He throws it in the air as it looks like he's about to fly away.

"NO!" said Zuko as he lunges after Aang. He catches him by the foot pulling him down to the ship's deck.

"Not good" said Weifang. He gets ready to jump off.

"Wait Weifang" said a crew member. "Jumping from this height will surely injure you.

Weifang opens his mouth about the say something but stops himself. He goes back inside making his way down to the deck the long way. He gets down only to see that Zuko has just knocked Aang off the ship.

"ZUKO" yelled Weifang. "YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSE TO KILL HIM?!"

"We have bigger problems" said Zuko as he points up. Weifang looks and sees what appears to be a large six legged flying bison approaching the ship.

"What is that?"

"That's what I'm about to find out."

Suddenly, the water shoots up behind them. Out pops Aang who appears to be glowing and bending the water around him. He lands on the ship surrounding himself in a large mass of water. He then expands it outwards and blows Zuko and Weifang off the edge of the ship along with a couple crew members. Zuko lands in the water while Weifang uses his airbending to slow his decent and lands on a small platform of ice.

"Zuko?" yelled Weifang "ZUKO!"

Zuko suddenly pops up from out the water. Weifang uses his airbending to move the waters beneath the ice getting to Zuko. He pulls Zuko out the water and Zuko shakes rapidly.

"We need to get back to the ship so you can warm up" said Weifang.

"No, we n-n-need to g-g-get t-t-to the Avatar."

Weifang shakes his head as he bends the waters to catch up to the ship. They get to the port side of the ship. Weifang sees an opening near the edge of the ship.

"Get ready" said Weifang. "I'll throw, you catch."

"Wait, what?" Weifang grabs Zuko's belt. "Weifang, don't" Weifang throws Zuko up propelling him with his airbending. Zuko manages to catch the edge of the ship. He attempts to climb up and grabs Aang's staff. At that same moment, Sokka appears and grabs the other side of the staff. Zuko tries to pull himself up but Sokka pokes him in the head with the staff and he falls grabbing onto the chain of the anchor.

"Ha ha" said Sokka. "That's from the water tribe." Sokka then runs off jumping onto the bison. Aang and Katara are already on the bison and the soldiers on the deck are all frozen in place.

"Appa, yip yip" yells Aang. The Bison takes off flying into the sky. At that moment Iroh shows up wiping his eyes as he's just woken up. Weifang and Zuko climb onto the deck.

"We can't let them escape" said Zuko. He and Iroh get into position. They send a large fireball towards the bison. Aang comes up and sends a wave of air to counter knocking the fireball into a nearby ice berg. The ice and debris fall onto the ship causing massive damage and burying it into the snow.

"Great" said Weifang. "No Avatar and a damaged ship."

"Don't rub it in" said Zuko.

"Well the good news is that the Avatar, the greatest threat to the fire nation, is just a little kid" said Iroh.

"That kid did this. I won't underestimate him again."


	5. Chapter 5

**The Prince and the Commander**

 **Chapter 5**

The ship finally exits the ice filled waters. The damage to the ship is extensive. The front end is all bent up with dents and holes on it. It makes creaking sounds as it flows through the waters.

Weifang, Zuko, and Iroh are on the deck of the ship as it continues to maneuver through the water.

"Ugh" said Zuko. "Can't believe we lost the Avatar."

"No use stressing about it" said Weifang. "It's not like we planned this."

"But I had him. The avatar was right there. It should have been easy."

"Dealing with the Avatar is not easy Zuko. You have to understand that."

Zuko grunts and turns away pacing back and forth on the deck.

"You know Prince Zuko," said Iroh. "With the way the ship is, we should consider repairs before we attempt to try and chase after the Avatar again." A piece of metal falls of the front of the ship creating a loud thump sound as it hits the ship. "There should be a fire nation colony close by that we can stop at."

"That's not really necessary Uncle" said Zuko.

"Zuko! Take the safety of the crew into consideration. Don't let the avatar blind you to reason."

Zuko bites his lip. "Fine, make port."

* * *

The ship arrives at a large Fire Nation port. The port is huge with many different ships there all parked near the southern end of the dock. These ships were also ten times the size of Zuko and Weifang's ships making them look like simple mice among humans. Zuko's ship pulls in between two other ships, landing on the shores. The front of the ship opens and the crew comes out. Zuko, Iroh, and Weifang also exit the ship.

"I want the ship repaired as soon as humanly possible. I don't want him to get any further than he already has," said Zuko.

"Of course" said Iroh. "Last thing we need is to lose the Ava-"

"Don't mentions his name" said Zuko interrupting Iroh. "If word gets out, everyone in the Fire Nation will be out looking for him and I don't want anyone getting in the way."

"Getting in the way of what?" said a voice behind them. They turn and see a middle aged man approaching. He is dressed like everyone else with a red sash from his left shoulder to his waist making him stand out. He had his hair tied up in a small bun with his hair slightly spiked on the side of his face. "Prince Zuko" said the man.

"Captain Zhao" said Zuko.

"It's commander now" said Zhao. "General Iroh, a pleasure to see you." He turns to Weifang. "Weifang, have to admit, it's a shock to see you outside the Fire Nation and with Zuko of all people." Zuko give Zhao a cold look. "So, what are the Fire Lord's brother and sons doing here?"

"Our ship is being repaired" said Iroh. "He points to the damage on the ship. Zhao looks at the ship scanning it from top to bottom.

"That's quite a bit of damage."

"Yes" said Zuko. "And you won't believe how it happened." There's a moment of silence. "Uncle, tell Commander Zhao how it happened."

Iroh looks up nervously. "Oh a right, I will do that." Iroh looks down at the ground trying to think. "It was a spectacular event." He pauses for a moment. Iroh then leans over to Zuko. "What did we crash or something?" he said softly.

"Yes, we crashed right into an Earth kingdom ship."

"Really" said Zhao with a suspicious tone. "You must regale me with all the details." He gets close to Zuko's face. "Care to join me for a drink?"

"Sorry but we have to go,"

"Prince Zuko" said Iroh. "Show Commander Zhao your respect." Iroh turns to Zhao. "We would be happy to join you. Do you have any Jing San Tea? It's my favorite." Zhao and Iroh walk towards the tents. Zuko grunts in frustration and turns to follow. Weifang begins to follow when he catches a glimpse of what appears to be a fireball coming at him. He quickly jumps out the way."

"You haven't lost your touch huh?" said a voice. Weifang recognizes the voice getting a underwhelming look on his face. A person comes from above and lands right in front of him. The figure turns out to be a woman. She appeared to be a little older Weifang; had long black hair tied in a ponytail and a very slender figure. She also wears the same kind of armor all other Fire Nation soldiers wear.

"Uragi" said Weifang. "Been a while"

"Yeah, to busy with your new family to visit the old one huh?" said Uragi

"You know that's not what I'm like."

"Yeah, yeah…but you haven't seen me in over a year. A lot's happened in that time. I got promoted to captain working under Commander Zhao directly, got my own ship and crew, it's really quite the experience if I do say so myself."

"Meh, I don't like him, he's too…arrogant."

"Coming from the guy who deals with Azula on a daily basis."

Weifang smiles. "Don't let her hear you say that, she might get upset. And she's quite unpleasant when she's upset."

Uragi points to her arm. "Yeah, I know, I still got the scar to prove it."

Weifang sighs. "I should probably get going. I'm supposed to be having tea with Zhao." He turns around and sees the number of tents scattered throughout. "Um, which one is Zhao's tent?"

Uragi sighs. "Follow me." She leads him on to the tent that's closes to them. They get inside to see a variety of armor and weapons, mainly spears, on the sides of the tent and a huge map of the world on the back wall. Two guards were standing on either end of the entrance to the tent with spears in hand. Iroh was standing by the spears and Zuko was sitting down sulking. Zhao had his back turned to them as he was facing the map.

"And by year's end, the Earth kingdom capital will be under our rule." Zhao turns around. "The Fire Lord will finally…." Zhao stops talking upon seeing Weifang and Uragi enter the room. "Captain Uragi, I don't remember ordering you to leave your post."

Uragi scratches the back of her head. "Sorry, I was just saying hi to Weifang" she said. "I'll return now."

"No, it's fine. You haven't seen him in a while. I'm not completely heartless you know." Zhao thinks for a minute. "Now where was I?"

"You were saying that we will finally win this war once we take the capital" said Iroh.

"Ah, right!"

"If my father thinks the kingdom will follow him willingly then he is a fool" said Zuko.

"Your time out at sea has done little to temper your tongue" said Zhao. He takes a deep breath. "So how's your search for the Avatar?" Weifang averts his eyes to which Uragi notices.

"We haven't found him."

"Did you expect to? The Avatar died 100 years ago there's no way he's alive." Zhao looks at Zuko who averts his eyes. "Unless you found some evidence that he may be alive."

"No, nothing!"

Zhao steps in front of Zuko. "Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only thing that stands in the way of the Fire Nation winning this war. If you have any ounce of loyalty, you will tell me what you found."

"Like I said, I found nothing." Zuko glares at Zhao. "It's like you said, the Avatar died 100 years ago." Zhao backs up with a disappointed look on his face. Zuko stands up heading out. "Uncle, let's go, we're leaving." The guards suddenly block Zuko's path. A random messenger comes in the tent.

"Commander Zhao" said the messenger. "We interrogated the crew like you asked. They confirmed that Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody and let him escape."

"Dammit" said Weifang to himself. Zhao approaches Zuko with a smile on his face.

"Now Prince Zuko, remind me" said Zhao. "How exactly was your ship damaged?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"So you let the Avatar, a 12 year old boy escape" said Zhao.

"I underestimated him before. I won't underestimate him again" said Zuko.

"No you won't…cause you won't get another chance."

Zuko looks up at Zhao. "Commander Zhao, I've been chasing the Avatar for two years and I—"

"AND YOU FAILED" said Zhao as he turns and bends a wave of fire in front of Zuko. "The Avatar is much too dangerous for a teeager to handle. He's mine now!"

Zuko gets up from his chair to try and attack Zhao but his held back by his men. Weifang is casually leaning on the wall staying silent.

"Keep them here" said Zhao. He leaves the tent. Zuko kicks the table out of frustration.

"Keep calm Zuko, we still have an advantage over Zhao" said Weifang.

"Ever the optimist" said Uragi interrupting. She starts pacing. "Take a look at the facts. Zhao has the resources, the ships, the support of a large fleet of fire nation ships and above all of that, he's strong. What hope does a banished prince, a disgraced General, and the best fighter in the entire Fire Nation have against such odds? "

Weifang snickers. "You are forgetting one thing, we've seen the Avatar in action. We know his moves, Zhao doesn't and he's bound to make a mistake in trying to capture him because of this. Besides, if I was alone I could have easily captured him with no problem." Zuko glares at Weifang. "Oh I didn't mean it like that…I just mean that with my special skills that works better when I'm alone, I could counter…well…."

Weifang goes silent. Zuko sits down. Uragi chuckles.

"Why are you being so modest, it's not like you're lying. It's basic probability. I mean, you've been personally training with the firelord for two years while Zuko here has been banished and received barely any training. You are clearly the better fighter."

"You shouldn't underestimate me" said Zuko. "I've gotten stronger with my training."

Uragi laughs. "From what; fighting with weak Earthbenders, knocking down weak villages, that's child's play. I mean it's obvious that Weifang purposely held back for your sake thinking you were capable enough to deal with the Avatar."

"Uragi," said Weifang.

"Yet here you are, coming off the heels of a humiliating defeat from a 12 year old boy."

"Uragi, stop talking."

"And worst off, you just blew your one chance of returning home. Now you'll never return, you'll forever be labeled the banished prince the man that lost the Avatar. I wouldn't be surprised if the firelord wished for your death just because he didn't want such a shameful seed of his family walking the same land as him."

"URAGI, SHUT UP!" There was silence in the tent. Weifang closes his eyes and turns away. Zuko sits in the chair looking at the ground.

Iroh glared at Uragi. "You had no right to say that" said Iroh. "Apologize to him right now."

"Why, I'm just speaking the truth" said Uragi. "Zuko should be able to handle the truth otherwise he's even more pathetic than I thought. I mean if he was stronger than Zhao I probably would consider him strong but that's obviously not the case." Zuko grunts loudly clenching his fist.

Zhao suddenly walks back into the tent. He looks over the situation. Uragi backs up and calmly stands still. Zhao turns to Zuko.

"My search party is ready" said Zhao. "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go."

"Why" said Zuko. "Are you worried that I'll try to stop you?"

Zhao laughs. "You, stop me? Impossible."

Zuko stands up. "Don't underestimate me Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you."

"Zuko" said Weifang. "Now is not be the best time to—"

"Stay out of this" yelled Zuko.

"You can't compete with me" said Zhao. "I have hundreds of war ships under my command and you…you're just a banished prince; no home, no allies, your own father doesn't even want you." Weifang gives a side glance to Zhao.

"You're wrong. Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he'll welcome me with honor and restore my rightful place on the throne."

Zhao scoffs. "If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace to the fire Nation.

"That's not true."

"You have the scar to prove it."

Zuko grunts and gets in Zhao's face. "Maybe you'd like one to match!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"An Agnikai, at sunset."

Zhao glares at Zuko. "Very well, It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your brother and uncle will do." Zhao leaves the tent.

Weifang grabs Zuko by the collar. "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?" yelled Weifang. "You can't just challenge Zhao like that.

"And here I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic. Hard to believe you are related to the Firelord." said Uragi

Zuko pulls away from Weifang. "SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU; I know what I'm doing" said Zuko.

"Prince Zuko" said Iroh. "Weifang has a point." Zuko turns away from them. "Zuko, have you forgotten what happened the last time you dueled a master?"

Zuko closes his eyes. His own screams echoing in his head. He opens them staring blankly at the wall. "I will never forget."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Weifang stands outside the tent pacing back and forth while rambling. Uragi watches him while sitting on a large rock.

"I just can't believe it" said Weifang. "How can Zuko do something so stupid? He should know not to challenge such a high ranking officer in the fire nation. Dad's just going to get more pissed off with him if he continues like this."

"It's Zuko" said Uragi. "He's always been a little…impulsive. That is exactly why he was banished to begin with." Weifang stops pacing and remains silent. Uragi crosses her arms. "You know, it's kind of odd. With how things are now, You seem like the real son of the Fire Lord and Zuko's the adopted one. Though that would make Zuko my biological brother, and a pathetic one at that."

"Zuko's not bad, he's just misguided."

"Misguided, you're misguided, your blind faith for Zuko is questionable."

"It's not blind faith."

"Than what else would you call it? You have always sided with Zuko on everything even if it's his fault. You are the only one that was visibly upset about his banishment."

"If you knew the full story, you would side with Zuko too."

"No, I wouldn't. I've always hated him since the moment I've met him."

"That's kind of harsh."

"But it's the truth, Zuko never seemed like a good person. Always trying to better himself trying to prove that he's the rightful heir to the Fire Nation throne. That pride must run in the family cause Azula is no better."

"Zuko is nothing like Azula."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Cause I know he is a good person. He's my brother after all."

"Brother?" said Uragi in a offended voice. "Then let me ask you this. If it came down to saving your life or capturing the Avatar, what do you think Zuko would do? Would he give up on his whole notion of capturing the Avatar or will he just let you die?"

"Obviously he would save me of course; he's not blinded by his obsession that he will choose such a thing."

Uragi glares at Weifang. "I'm not convinced. I feel like he would reclaim his honor over saving someone's life, even his own family."

"You worry too much, that scenario will never happen." Weifang looks up and notices the sunset. "It's almost time, we better head to the arena."

"…Yeah"

* * *

Sunset comes. Zuko and Zhao are in a large arena with their backs to each other. They had no shirts on and wore red pants and were completely bare foot. They had a small cloth on their shoulders with a fire shape texture on it. Iroh and Weifang were standing near Zuko. Uragi stands near Zhao.

"Remember your fire bending basics Prince Zuko" said Iroh. "They are your greatest weapons."

"I refuse to let him win" said Zuko. The two get up and face each other letting the cloth fall to the ground.

"This will be over quickly" said Zhao. Zuko and Zhao both take a stance. The gong is rung. Zuko fires a large fireball. Zhao shifts to the side to dodge it. Zuko sends a few more fire balls at Zhao and Zhao dodges it with ease. One fireball get sent directly at Zhao. Zhao crosses his arms and repels it away from his body dispelling the fire. He gives a smirk as Zuko breathes heavily. His arms start shaking a little. Zuko starts to kick some fire with Zhao blocking the attack. Zuko sends a large wave a fire at Zhao and Zhao summons his own fire to repel the fire away from him.

"Zuko, stay focus" yelled Weifang.

"Basics Zuko" said Iroh. "Break his root."

Zhao starts his attack. He sends fire at Zuko. Zuko repels it from his body. He does it again and again Zuko repels it. However, the more he does, he further back he gets pushed. Zhao fires a large attack and knocks Zuko down on the ground. Zhao fires one more as Zuko attmpts to get up knocking him back. Zuko lands hard on the ground getting the wind knocked out of him. Zhao then jumps and lands near Zuko.

"It's over" said Uragi.

Zhao prepares to fire at Zuko while he's down on the ground at point blank range. Zuko sees the attack coming quickly rolling back and triping Zhao at the same time. He kicks himself up from the ground landing on his feet.

"Good Zuko" said Weifang. Uragi stands there in silence just shocked by what just happened.

Zuko then smirks as he delivers low fire attacks at the feet forcing Zhao to stumble back. With each wave of fire sent in Zhao's direction the more and more he loses his balance. With one final kick, Zuko knocks Zhao onto the ground. Zuko stands above Zhao with his fist extended. He pauses.

"Do it!" yelled Zhao. Zuko fires a point blank attack missing Zhao. "That's it? Your father raised a coward."

"Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back" said Zuko. He starts to walk away. Zhao slowly gets up. He clenches his fist and kicks a fireball at Zuko. Weifang jumps in the way and delivers a kick of his own blocking the fire and blowing Zhao back at the same time. Zuko goes to try and strike Zhao but Iroh stops him.

"No, Prince Zuko, do not taint your victory" said Iroh. Iroh turns to Zhao. "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you." Iroh pauses. "Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious." Iroh starts to walk away. Zuko follows after. Weifang looks at Zhao for a minute and turns to leave with Iroh and Zuko. Zhao starts to chuckle.

"You've gotten stronger Prince Weifang" said Zhao. "Amazing how much one can grow in two years. Heed my advice Weifang; you will receive nothing but pain and suffering by staying with your brother. You know what happened last time you took a blow for him." Weifang stops and stares at Zhao. "You may not be so lucky this time around." Weifang glares at him.

"Weifang!" yelled Iroh. "Let's go!" Weifang slowly turns around walking away. Uragi runs to catch up to them.

* * *

The three of them get back to the ship. Zuko and Iroh get on the ship. Weifang is about to head on when he stops and looks back. Uragi was standing a few feet behind him. They approach each other. Uragi lets out a sigh.

"Alright, I'll admit, Zuko is…strong…but that won't mean anything he will still have to capture the Avatar and Zhao still has the advantage." said Uragi.

"Well he won't give up" said Weifang. "And neither will I."

Uragi smiles. "I know." Uragi hugs Weifang. "Promise me something little brother."

"What is it?"

Uragi gets into Weifang's ear. "Don't let Zuko be the death of you. I've already lost Mom and Dad. If I was to lose my little brother too then…."

"I know, and don't worry, I will be fine."

They let go of each other and Weifang walks onto the ship. The ship pulls of as Weifang waves goodbye to Uragi. Uragi waves back as the ship disappears in the sunset.


End file.
